


Antifa-glow

by DivineNoodles



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Can you believe I did research for this because I can't, Crack Treated Seriously, Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Anarcho-Communism, Gen, Lesbians Punching Fascists - Freeform, Not as OOC as you would think, Politics, Punk Isn't Dead, Sincere Shitposting, The ships only matter for like two lines of dialogue, Trans Female Character, You Are Not Immune To Moca-ganda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22339843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineNoodles/pseuds/DivineNoodles
Summary: After reading "The Bread Book," a newly radicalized Moca enlists her bandmates to do the most punk-rock thing of all: beat the crap out of some fascists.
Relationships: Aoba Moca/Mitake Ran, Hazawa Tsugumi/Hikawa Sayo, Udagawa Tomoe/Uehara Himari
Comments: 22
Kudos: 83





	Antifa-glow

**Author's Note:**

> All I wanna say before this begins is... don't take this _too_ seriously, okay?
> 
> ~~Unless of course you're inspired to take to the streets and fight for the people IN WHICH CASE, COMRADES-~~
> 
> Also I would put on some appropriate music to fit the mood. I recommend [Against Me!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG3S3gOuse8) or [Defiance, Ohio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR0MFMxeLec) personally, though if you're looking for something more J-Punk you can't go wrong with [The Blue Hearts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJba7kMN5oc).
> 
> CW: blood, violence, swearing, destruction of the state, implied homophobia/transphobia, incels

“...Moca, what on earth are you wearing?”

Ran and Tsugumi had entered the CiRCLE studio together, ready to start another typical practice session, when they stumbled upon a familiar gremlin already in the studio. Only instead of her usual blue hoodie, Afterglow’s guitarist was draped from head to toe in black – black jacket, black shirt, black pants, black baseball cap, black sunglasses, black bandanna… even her bag was a new midnight color. That said, the lackadaisical way in which she laid back on her chair with one foot on the drum stool was a classic Moca maneuver: the only thing assuring them that this was, in fact, the same person.

“‘Sup, comrades?” asked Moca, flashing a peace sign. “You razzled and dazzled by the new and improved Moca-chan?”

“Not exactly,” said Ran, still trying to process Moca’s newfound fashion sense. “Are you suddenly getting into emo or something?”

“I thought you were above projecting, my dear Ran~”

As Ran grit her teeth, Tsugumi tried to be charitable. “Um… m-maybe she’s in a mourning period, but trying to be fashionable about it?”

“Oh, sweet, precious Tsugu…” Moca began, shaking her head. “Always giving the benefit of the doubt. Nay, my transformation isn’t one of death… but rebirth.” She waved a book around. “Because Moca-chan has awoken to the ills of the world, and is gonna do something about it.”

Ran took the book from Moca, reading the title out loud. _“The Conquest of Bread…_ That definitely sounds like something you’d be interested in.”

“Is it about a history of baking?” asked Tsugumi. “That sounds interesting!”

They opened the book to a random page, scanning the first paragraph that entered their vision.

> _We hold further that Communism is not only desirable, but that existing societies, founded on Individualism, are inevitably impelled in the direction of Communism. The development of Individualism during the last three centuries is explained by the efforts of the individual to protect himself from the tyranny of Capital and of the State. For a time he imagined, and those who expressed his thought for him declared, that he could free himself entirely from the State and from society. "By means of money," he said, "I can buy all that I need." But the individual was on a wrong tack, and modern history has taught him to recognize that, without the help of all, he can do nothing, although his strong-boxes are full of gold._

“...Tsugumi,” Ran began, “I don’t think this book is about bread.”

“Oh, but it is,” said Moca, nodding sagely. “And so much more than that: the machinations of society itself, in fact, and how the rich conspire to keep the poor in rags to they can cling onto their stock of buns...”

“R-Right,” said Tsugumi, smiling but not really understanding.

Ran sighed. “This is just another of your weird jokes, isn’t it?”

“I would never joke about the dignity and rights of the common man~,” Moca lilted. “Heck, I’m ready to go expropriate the wealth hoarded by the one-percent and spread it allllll around the world.”

Before Ran and Tsugumi could come up with an adequate response to that, Tomoe and Himari entered. “Sorry we’re late, we-” Tomoe was cut off upon catching a glimpse of Moca’s new appearance. “Woah! What’s with the get-up?”

“Ooooh! Moca!” Himari squealed. “So fashionable! I’ll admit that black’s not quite _my_ color, but it looks great on you!”

“Thanks, Hii-chan,” Moca sang, her dopey grin visible even through her makeshift mask. “I’m glad _someone_ appreciates my new mission.”

“What mission is that?” asked Tomoe.

Tsugumi exhaled deeply. “Moca-chan’s… become a communist.”

 _“Anarcho-_ communist,” Moca corrected, flashing a half-red, half-black flag embroidered onto her jacket pocket. “Silly Tsugu, thinking I’d pal around with Stalinists…”

“A communist, huh?” Tomoe chuckled lightly. “Sounds like something Moca would do.”

“I know, right?” said Ran, smiling. “She’s probably using it as some set-up for one of her schemes.”

“Totally!” Himari chimed in. “Like, next time we go out for sweets, she’ll say she needs to redistribute my proportion since I’ve been eating so many lately!”

“Yep, that’s Moca-chan alright,” said Tsugumi.

The four of them laughed at the notion. Moca, uncharacteristically, remained in place, her arms crossed. “Ah, yes. Moca-chan is just the wiliest jester, hm? Always with the jokes. Neeeever serious. Neeeever concerned with helping people…” Her voice took on a pained tone. “Oh, won’t anybody praise little old me for wanting to make the world a better place?”

“W-Well…!” Tsugumi stuttered. “I think it’s really nice how you’re becoming more politically conscious!”

“Ah, Tsugu… my guardian angel…!” Moca made a dramatic gesture towards her. “I knew you’d understand. You should join me on my crusade.”

“What crusade are you even talking about?” asked Ran. “You’ve mentioned something like that a couple times.”

Without another word, Moca pulled out her phone and brought up a blog post: 

_Anti-Immigrants Day protest scheduled this Saturday. Demonstrations and marches will be held nationwide. Protesters will bluster about their numbers and make a big stink, but we outnumber them easily. Danger levels will be low, so show up with placards and make your voice heard. Stand up to racism and xenophobia, always. Support your local antifa, and let’s party._

“Antifa?” asked Tomoe. “What’s that?”

Moca gasped. “And you call yourself a rock ‘n’ roller? Sorry, Tomo-chin, but you have to turn in your punk card now.”

“Oh, okay.” Tomoe handed Moca a card-sized slip of construction paper that said ‘Tomo-chin is punk as hell - certified 7/10/13.’

“To answer your question,” said Moca as she pocketed the card, “Antifa is short for ‘anti-fascist.’”

“What’s a fascist, again?” asked Himari.

“Himari-chan… you really have to pay attention in history class,” said Tsugumi.

“Y’know…” Ran gestured with her hands. “Our government in World War II. Nazis. Those kinda people.”

“Ooh…” said Himari. “So like, antifa protest against dead guys?”

“We only wish they were dead,” said Moca wistfully. “Alas, they’re alive, and growing in number every year.”

“Really?” asked Tomoe. “I hope there’s not any in the government…”

“W-Well… about that…” Tsugumi gulped. “Our current prime minister is pretty far right…”

“Woah, really?”

“Wait, there’s a whole Anti-Immigrants Day?” asked Himari, wide-eyed. “That seems… hateful.”

“People love blaming other people for their own problems,” Ran sighed. “Doesn’t surprise me that they’d get so mad they’d make a whole day for it.”

“Correct,” sang Moca. “Which is why we need to beat those people up.”

“Woah, there,” said Tomoe, crossing her arms with an uneasy smile. “Is that really necessary?”

“I-I agree,” said Himari. “That seems pretty extreme, don’t you think?”

“Oh, come on,” said Moca. “I’m sure Ran wouldn’t mind punching a fascist or two. Isn’t that right, Ran?”

“Leave me out of this.”

“Don’t deny it. Search your feelings. You know it to be true…”

“U-Um…” Tsugumi interjected. “I don’t like violence at all, but… if it’s a peaceful counter-protest… that doesn’t sound so bad...”

“I dunno,” said Himari. “I was planning to go shopping with Lisa-senpai.”

“And I have taiko rehearsal,” said Tomoe.

“I’ve got a flower arrangement lesson,” said Ran. “Don’t want to get into a tizzy with my dad again.”

“Honestly, all of you,” said Moca, clicking her tongue in disappointment. “Where’s your punk spirit? Do we play raw riffs and wear street fashion just to appropriate the aesthetics of punk culture without actually engaging in its core principles of rebellion and free spirit?”

“Hey, we’re pretty punk,” said Ran defensively.

“Ran, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever said or done to anyone?”

“Um…” Ran looked upward in thought. “I called my dad stupid and ugly and smelly once.”

“See what I mean?” asked Moca. “If you were really punk, you’d be smashing store windows and dousing alt-right pigs in silly string. But I guess that’s just too much for you, huh?”

“It is not!” said Ran. “I-I could do that stuff in my sleep.”

“Don’t take her bait, Ran,” said Tomoe. “Moca knows how to get your goat.”

“‘Get your goat’?” asked Moca. “Okay, granny, bold words from someone who’s never even knocked over a trash can in her life.”

Tomoe’s eyes narrowed. “What are you callin’ me, bread goblin?”

“Guuuuuys!” Himari whined. “Stop fighting!”

“Hii-chan’s got a point,” said Moca. “We should direct all our anger towards the racists on Saturday.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You didn’t? But you’d be so good at fighting them off.”

“Hey, I-” Himari’s face melted into surprised delight when she realized what Moca was saying. “Wait, you think I would?”

“Of course,” said Moca. “Don’t you know? The gayer you are, the better you are at punching imperialists. And you’re the gayest one here.”

“H-Hey!” Himari was as red as Tomoe’s hair. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Moca-chan only speaks the truth~.”

Once again, it was Tsugumi’s job to curtail the chaos. “S-So, are we going to the counter-protests, or…?”

Everybody looked at each other.

“I… I mean…” Tsugumi continued, scrambling to explain herself. “W-We’re women living in a patriarchal society, so it would probably be best to show solidarity in the fight for progressive change!”

Nods all around. “Very true.” “Tsugu’s got it.” “Right on.” “Absolutely!”

“E-Especially since Ran-chan and Moca-chan are trans! That only makes it more important to fight for social tolerance!”

“...Thanks.” “Hehe~” “Yeah, I’d fight anybody who’d mess with them!” “For sure!”

“Not to mention… we’re _all_ lesbians.”

“Uh-huh.” “Very Tsugurific observations.” “Can’t deny it.” “Hey! I’m _bi!”_

“S-So…” Tsugumi raised a tiny fist into the air. “W-We should go show our support! O-Or is it our dissent? Wh-Whichever it is!”

In the face of her purehearted antifa determination, everybody else grinned, feeling combativeness turn into resolve.

Moca giggled. “That’s our Tsugu. Always setting us on the right path.”

“I’ll say,” said Ran, smiling. “Besides, it’ll be a great opportunity to show just how punk we can be.”

“I wouldn’t mind sticking it to some bigots,” said Tomoe, cracking her knuckles. “There’re worse ways to spend a weekend.”

“Let’s do it, everyone!” cried Himari. “Hey, hey, hoh!”

Nobody chanted in response.

“What?! You all are suddenly fine being all political, but you still won’t do the chant?!”

Ran sighed. “Even after becoming radicalized, some things never change.”

* * *

Tsugumi thought there wouldn’t be a lot of people at the event. After all, there possibly couldn’t be that many people who would actively promote something so openly racist, right? Well…

“Japan for the Japanese!”

“Expel all foreigners!”

“Go back to where you came from!”

It was like something out of the Edo period. Hearing it amplified through a megaphone only made the message more intolerable.

A line of cops stood between the protesters and counter-protesters, separating a wave of imperial flags and military uniforms from dark hoodies and black flags. The two sides spat messages back and forth through megaphones, drowning each other in static noise and uneasy tension. Signs spewing hate faced those preaching tolerance. As the first political event that Afterglow had really attended… it was a bit headache-inducing.

Himari had been in charge of coordinating the band’s black bloc outfits for the occasion, finding appropriate yet tasteful clothing for each of them. Ran was decked out in a big, baggy hoodie, complete with black beanie and dark jeans. Moca was wearing a similar outfit to the one she bore a few days before, only now she wore her cap backwards (“for style points”). Himari was outfitted in a black turtleneck and thigh-highs, wrapping a dark shawl around her neck. Tomoe’s zip-up hung loosely off her shoulders, exposing the shoulders left uncovered by her tank-top, and her leggings were ripped all the way down to her combat boots (for reasons she didn’t quite understand). Finally, Tsugumi was clothed in a long pleated skirt and cardigan, putting on a wool hat for extra inconspicuousness. Each wore a black surgical mask marked by different signifiers: a red lightning bolt, a blue bread bun, a pink heart, a scarlet ramen bowl, and a yellow coffee mug, and each (sans Tomoe) carried their instrument on their back. “You do know the point of these outfits is to make us _hard_ to identify, right?” asked Ran.

“What’s the point in being anonymous if you can’t be fashionable...?” Himari grumbled.

“Jeez, they sure are loud,” Tomoe remarked, staring down the opposition. “Oy! Hate-for-brains! Shut up and go home already!”

“Suck on the tit of your blindly sentimental dreams, imperialist pigs~!” Moca called.

Tsugumi wasn’t sure she liked the direction this thing was going in. Both sides were getting louder and louder with time, and pushing against the police line with greater and greater ferocity. It seemed inevitable that somebody would snap and start throwing punches any minute. “U-Uhm, Moca-chan?”

“What is it, my humble Tsugu?”

“Th-This isn’t going to get violent, is it? I-I mean…”

“Oh Tsugu…” Moca snaked an arm around her shoulder and began patting her on the back. “Tsugu, Tsugu, Tsugu. I’m sorry, but you can’t have an omelette without breaking a few eggs, you know?”

“B-But I don’t want anyone to get hurt!” Tsugumi protested. “I… I read that book you had the other day, and while it had a lot of interesting ideas, I don’t think we should be taking things by force!”

“Ah, I knew you’d be a dirty liberal.” Another pat. “It’s okay, Tsugu, I still love you. And I’m sure you’ll come around to my viewpoint eventually. The richest in the world just take and hoard their wealth for themselves – if we want to better the lives of the people, we need to take it from them. Remember: there are no good billionaires.”

“Wh-What about Kokoro-chan?”

A pause.

“...There is _one_ good billionaire,” Moca qualified.

The megaphone was being passed down the counter-protester side. Ran got her hands on it first. “Hey, racists! I’d tell you to go back where you came from, but I don’t want you stinking up trash cans with your shit!”

Tomoe was next. “Crawl back to the internet or wherever it is you go to spew garbage!”

Himari. “You all have _terrible_ fashion sense!”

Tsugumi. “Pl-Please reconsider your viewpoint and the fact that your worldview is based in negativity and externalized blame…!”

And finally, Moca. “Oh~ look at this bunch! You’ve got a snazzy uniforms, gentlemen - I’m sure they help your mom find you in the crowd when she comes to take you back to your basement..”

Rabbles were roused on the other side.

“Y’know, something tells me you gremlins – I’m allowed to call you that, it takes one to know one – have never actually interacted with a foreigner in your life. Heck, I have a hapa friend who’s got more Japanese spirit than the lot of you put together. She could slice you in two with just one swipe of her katana~.”

Something about Moca’s voice – the vacant intonation, the high-pitched taunting, the clear not-giving-a-shit quality – made the anti-immigrant side even more hostile than before.

“Aww, have I made the baby chickens cry? Cluck cluck, fuckos. Your entire ideology iss forged by nostalgia for a time that doesn’t exist. Man, you’re probably such otaku incels that you’d lose your mind over the sight of two girls kissing, huh~?”

With that, she leaned over, pulled down her mask and snogged Ran, who overcame her initial shock to lean into the makeout. Spotting an opportunity, Himari did the same to Tomoe. Tsugumi – like many times before – was left to watch as a fifth wheel, daydreaming of the taste of Sayo’s french-fry flavored lips.

The sight of seeing two trans lesbians happily make out in front of them was too much for the poisoned minds of the opposition, who finally broke down. With an offended roar, they charged against the police line, pushing until the cops – complicit as ever – broke rank and they were able to pour through.

“Stand strong, everyone!” Ran cried, unsheathing her guitar like a fantasy sword of legend, the phrase _This Machine Kills Fascists_ scrawled on the side in sharpie.

It was then that all hell broke loose.

Fists and flags flew through the air as a little scuffle quickly escalated into an all-out brawl, people from both sides of the aisle decking each other in the face with the utmost of their strength. Ran was in the vanguard, using her guitar as a baseball bat to bash the frontline fascists’ right in the jaw. It was a good weight in her hands - heavy enough to provide heft, but light enough that she could hurl it around without abandon. She connected strikes from every direction - over the head, under the chin, straight in the chest - kicking and tearing away from every grab and grapple. “I’ll show you fucks what punk really looks like!” she cried, popping a military otaku right in the nose.

“Hey, leave some for me!” Right behind her was Tomoe. She may not have had a blunt object to use as a weapon, but she possessed something twice as deadly: fists. With kiais that would put any kung-fu action star to shame, she elbowed, palmed, and flipped every single combatant who crossed her path, hurling them to the ground with a force so strong it created wind. “Come on, you bastards! Aren’t you always calling yourselves ‘shads’ ‘n’ shit? You oughtta be stronger than that!”

“It’s ‘chads’, Tomo-chin,” Moca corrected. She was playing the evasive game, ducking out of the way of blows before chopping opponents in the back of the neck. “Also, they _wish_ they were as chadly as you.”

“I agree!” said Himari. She obviously wasn’t quite as fighting fit as the rest, but give a girl two cans of mace and a big bass to throw around and she can make it work. “Your muscles are like, five times more toned than theirs!”

“Thanks, babe,” said Tomoe, kneeing a chud in the chest and watching him crumple to the concrete, “but can you save the compliments for when we’re not in the middle of a riot?”

“Uuuuuuugh, fine!” Himari pouted, nearly getting clobbered by a wayward fist before Tomoe stopped it with her palm mid-air. “I-I’m not straying far from you though, okay?”

“Fine by me,” said Tomoe, wiping her mouth with a grin. “Just don’t get too close, kay? Don’t wanna smack you by accident.”

Nearby, Ran had exhausted herself after her initial frenzy, nearly collapsing against a residential police car. Her guitar was hanging together by three strings. Her arms felt like noodles. But there were still fascists to punch. There were _always_ fascists to punch.

“Hey, Ran~,” called Moca, who had parked just on the other side of the car. “You doin’ alright?”

Ran laughter turned into a cough. “You kiddin’? I feel more alive now than ever before.”

“Woah… that’s pretty punk of you. Guess I was wrong.”

“Hell yeah you were.” Ran spun her head around. “How’re you holdin’ up?”

“Moca-chan is Mocatastic,” she replied, holding up her tattered guitar. “Although I can’t say the same for my beautiful blue baby… it’s juuuuust clinging to life.”

Ran sighed. “Man, guitars are expensive. But… you know what’s even more expensive?”

“What?”

Ran smirked. “Cop cars.”

Even though she couldn’t see Moca’s face from her angle, Ran could somehow tell she was smiling.

As if synchronized, the two rose at the same time, hurling their tattered instruments towards the sky so they could bring it down upon the hood of the patrol vehicle, screaming at the top of their lungs:

_“FUCK THE POLICE!”_

They smashed, and smashed, and smashed, until the sparks created from metal grinding against metal hit the exposed gas tank and ignited a beautiful fire that cast the glow of rebellion across the bloodied street.

Meanwhile, Tomoe was still standing after taking down nearly thirty fascists with her bare hands. She’d gotten a couple cracks to the head in the scuffle, but it wasn’t a big deal - the warm blood trickling down her head was almost energizing. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she spat out a mouthful of red. “Man, been a long time since I’ve had a tussle like this. _Who wants next?”_

Every alt-righter in the vicinity stepped back in fear and trepidation. “R-Run! She’s like some lesbian antifa super soldier!” In the process of trying to escape, Himari bonked a couple with the broad side of her bass, high-fiving her girlfriend in triumph.

In the midst of the chaos, Tsugumi had scampered off into a corner to hide, watching the unfolding maelstrom with wide eyes and a fretful mouth. She felt the desire to help her friends and the wish to maintain peace tug her in opposite directions as her head whipped back and forth, seeking some sort of way to put a stop to what was happening.

“Yo, Tsugu,” chimed Moca, shuffling over to her hidey hole. “How’s it going?”

“M-Moca-chan!” Tsugumi loud-whispered. “You’re bleeding…!”

“Eh, just from the lip. That’s nothing~” Moca patted her on the shoulder. “How about you? You haven’t gotten involved in the fighting, yeah?”

“N-No, but…” Tsugumi gulped as she looked back towards the melee. “C-Can’t we resolve this peacefully? I-If we talked it out, then…”

“Ah, the classic ‘marketplace of ideas’ spiel,” said Moca dreamily. “It sure sounds nice. But you saw who threw the first blows, right?”

“W-Well…”

“You can help out.” Moca tossed something in her direction, which Tsugumi scrambled to catch – a vodka bottle with a rag sticking out of the top. “You can throw the first brick of the revolution.”

“I-I don’t want a revolution!” Tsugumi protested. “I just want everyone to get along!”

“Tsugu,” said Moca, looking her in the eye. “I want you to think of your favorite coworker.”

“My…” Tsugumi gulped. “Do you mean Eve-chan?”

“That’s right. Kind, precious Eve-san, the gentlest, nicest, sweetest human being in the whole world… except for you, of course.” Moca motioned towards the throng of fascists in their midst. “What do you think these virulent xenophobes would think of her?”

“They… wouldn’t like her very much, would they…”

“Nope~! They’d call her a filthy _gaijin_ and tell her to go back to Finland. Poor, dear Eve-san, who loves Japan more than any of them… can you just let them continue to spread their hate, until she’s affected by it?”

Eve’s face fashed through Tsugumi’s mind – her million-watt smile when greeting customers, her determined glare when practicing kendo, the dignified gentility she bore no matter the hardship… it was a face that she couldn’t help but want to protect. Tsugumi gripped the bottle in her hands tightly.

“Do it, soldier,” said Moca, saluting. “Do it for her.”

Shutting her eyes tightly, Tsugumi pulled her arm back and hurled the Molotov high into the air, crying out, “F-For Eve-chan…!”

The bottle sailed through the air before crashing into the middle of the street, spilling unlit alcohol everywhere.

The two silently stared at the sight.

“I… forgot to light the rag…” Tsugumi murmured.

“Nobody ever said revolution was easy,” said Moca. “Well it doesn’t matter – it looks like we’ve won.”

It was true – every anti-immigrant protester and sympathetic cop had fallen to the asphalt, dazed and unconscious. Ran popped her neck with a satisfied grin. “Phew… I think I took out the most.”

“Really?” asked Tomoe, dropping a limp racist to the ground. “I got like, fifty.”

“Well I got fifty-one.”

“Like you were counting.”

“Look, the point is that I was more punk than you, okay?”

“Oh yeah? Do you have a certified card from Moca saying that?”

“Do _you?”_

Himari intervened right as they were about to butt heads. “Guuuys, we should be celebrating! We bashed the fash and everything!”

“Hii-chan’s right,” said Moca. “I think everybody deserves a punk card for their efforts here.”

The crowd of remaining antifa cried out in delight and celebration. Feeling bad about her lack of contribution, Tsugumi gently pushed over a nearby trash can, before guilt caused her to pick it right back up.

“Well, what do we do now?” asked Ran. “We beat up the bigots bold enough to actually come to a place like this, but…”

“Worry not, my comrades,” said Moca. “Today it was just the gnarliest of parasites… but so long as we remain vigilant, we’ll soon defeat every last authoritarian hiding out in this rotten country.”

Everybody in the band gathered around her. “That sure sounds nice, huh?” asked Tomoe.

“I never thought I’d be good at street fighting, but look at me!” said Himari. “I’ve only got like three bruises!”

“M… Maybe we can try a different strategy next time,” Tsugumi suggested politely.

“Well, I guess that wasn’t so bad,” said Ran, unable to hide her smile.

“Get ready, Japan!” said Moca, raising her fists in the air. “Today it’s the imperialists – tomorrow, it’s the state!”

What should have been a victorious cry of agreeance was instead a moment of quiet. Tomoe crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. “Hold on. The state? You didn’t say anything about fighting the state.”

“What do you think the ‘anarcho’ part of anarcho-communism stands for?” asked Ran.

“I mean… the government does good things though, doesn’t it?”

“Spoken like a true toady,” said Moca. “You wanna lick the police’s boots now or later?”

“Hey…”

“Wait a sec,” said Himari. “Isn’t communism, like, that thing that killed millions of people? We shouldn’t be doing that, right?”

“I told you, Hii-chan, those were the Stalinists. I’m not a tankie.”

“Tankie...?” Himari shook her head. “A-Anyway! We should be, like, thinking this through before we do that at least, right?”

“Hii-chan, you just need to read a book.”

“Hey! I read lots of books! Th-They might be shoujo manga, but…!”

“I don’t know about the idea of revolution, either,” said Ran. “I mean… we’re in high school. What are we going to do against the JSDF? Don’t they have guns and stuff?”

“Wow, Ran,” said Moca disappointedly. “That’s like, the least punk thing anybody’s ever said. I’m revoking your card privileges.”

“Wh-Whatever. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, I think we just have to be careful.”

“Um, isn’t it a bad idea though?” asked Tomoe. “Again… the government, like, does stuff.”

“I guess you can’t just imagine a life without it, huh?”

“What was that?”

The four continued bickering amongst themselves, slinging mud and passive-aggressiveness around until Tsugumi finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Pl-Please, everyone, stop!”

The other members of Afterglow, battered and bruised from their long battle, turned to face their unscathed keyboardist.

“I… I don’t want us to fight!” said Tsugumi. “I-I think we did a good thing here today – e-even if I don’t agree with the _way_ we did it – and we should figure out how to keep fighting off cruel people like that. But if we just keep bickering with one another, then we won’t get anything done!”

Her words sunk into each of their consciousnesses. For a moment, they all chewed on them.

Ran coughed. “I’m, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“No, it was my bad,” said Tomoe. “Tsugu’s right. We should work together.”

“Ooooh… Tsugu!” Himari started crying as she pulled Tsugumi into a hug. “How do you always know what to say?”

“Leave it to herh to end the centuries-long problem of leftist infighting,” Moca said, grinning. “That just might be the most Tsuguriffic move yet.”

“Th-Thanks,” said Tsugumi, smiling sheepishly. “I’m really nothing special…”

“Maybe not,” said Ran. “None of us are, when you get down to it. But…” She walked over to the tattered remains of her guitar neck and picked them up off the ground. “We’re people. There’s a whole seven billion of us. If we work together… then who knows what we can do?”

“Woah, sappy Ran,” Moca said, wide-eyed. “A once in a blue moon appearance.”

Ran probably should’ve felt embarrassed by the tease, but she was high on adrenaline and victory. Instead, she turned to the mob behind her, raising the broken guitar part high in the air like a beacon of revolution.

“Fuck war!”

A cheer.

“Fuck capitalism!”

A cry.

“Fuck prejudice!”

A bellow.

With her free arm, Ran pulled Moca into a side hug. “We don’t need any of that garbage! We can build a better world with our own two hands! Free from hatred and poverty and murder!”

Moca koalaed around her torso, smirking with an uncharacteristic softness. The other members of Afterglow crowded around her, each bearing the same grin. 

“As long as we have each other…” Ran looked out into the sky, flashing her teeth. “...We’ll find a way!”

A roar.

“Solidarity forever!”

## “SOLIDARITY FOREVER!”

And so they chanted, back and forth, long into the afternoon, marching through the streets with their heads held high. And even after a legion of police came to throw them all in the slammer for their rebellion, Ran and her friends clung tightly to one another for warmth and support, knowing they’d make it through the ills the world threw at them…

The same as always.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I love Afterglow a lot but the Bandori writers seems very reluctant to let them, the ostensibly punk band, do anything actually punk. So I conceived of this shitpost a long while back and put it on the backburner as I continued to pinball ideas around my head. But then... real-world events happened that reminded me of how much I fucking hate imperialism in all forms, and in my ensuing rage and feeling of helplessness I wrote this out in an afternoon with it not being quite as jokey as I intended it to be. Obviously it's very tongue-in-cheek and a shitpost, but the ending came through a lot more... honestly than I thought it would.
> 
> I actually did a bit of research on Japanese antifa for this thing, although I wasn't able to incorporate too much into the actual text. Anti-Immigrants Day was an actual event coordinated by far-right Japanese groups, though it had very low turnout and was entirely peaceful. Japan's left-wing is notoriously prone to infighting and elitism (like, more so than other left-wings), but obviously antifa, pro-LGBT groups, and other progressive factions are still active in the country. I obviously can't comment too much on the actual politics at play because I'm a foreigner, though I was careful to try and at least fit the writing to accommodate the setting (AKA never referring to the pro-imperialist side as 'Nazis'). When I shitpost, I shitpost _seriously_
> 
> Anyway if world events continue to piss me off I may make follow-ups at some point. I mean, there are 25 other girls in the Bandori cast who are all definitely antifa, right?
> 
> Until then - hope you're having a radical day, my friends. ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> Follow me on Twitter: [@DivineNoodles](https://twitter.com/DivineNoodles)  
> CuriousCat: [DivineNoodles](https://curiouscat.me/DivineNoodles)


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